Material feeder



Aug. 15, 1950 w. E. ANDERSON MATERIAL FEEDER Filed July 29, 1946 1N VEN TOR. lW/Aam 5 Hyde/$0 Patented Aug. 15, 1950 MATERIAL FEEDER William E. Anderson, Kansas City, Mo., assignor .of one-half to William Earl Anderson, Blue Springs, Mo.

Application July 29, 1946, Serial No. 686,937

This invention relates to materia feeders and more specifically to feeders particularly adapted to feed ingredients for making building blocks wherein said blocks are formed by directing the mixture of sand, cement and water under pressure againsta form or block mold. The primary object of this invention is to provide a material feeder having a hopper formed to direct the material toward a conduit passing therethrough, which conduit is provided with a plurality of ports for admission of the material into a stream of air under pressure passing through the conduit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a material feeder having a hopper and a conduit for receiving material from the hopper provided with a series of ports disposed in spaced apart, staggered relation in the conduit, each formed to present both a radially directed opening and an opening facing the direction of travel of a stream of pressurized air created in the conduit.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a material feeder having a hopper and a conduit therethrough of the aforementioned character wherein each port is formed by stamping the conduit to present an internal lip inclined in the direction of travel of material in the conduit whereby a number of high pressure zones is established as air under pressure is caused to flow through the conduit.

Other objects of this invention include a material feeder that obviates clogging and jamming of material passing from the point of storage to points of use; that assures a constant and even flow of material with a minimum of working parts; that is unlikely to get out of order during long periods of continued use; and a material feeder that is simple to construct, inexpensive to manufacture, and easy to operate.

Additional objects will become apparent throughout the following specification, referring to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a material feeder made in accordance with my present invention, parts being broken away to reveal details of construction.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary View of the conduit shown in Fig. 1, parts being broken away to illustrate the manner of forming the openings therein; and

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional viewtaken on line III-III of Fig. 2.

The hopper for containing the ingredients to be fed by the structure shown in Fig. 1 is broadly designated by the numeral l0, and is formed in 1 Claim. ('01. 302-52) the conventional funnel-like manner to direct the material l2 toward the bottom l4 thereof.

Obviously this form can be varied to suit con-.

ditions by varying the slope of the side walls or changin the contour to assure the steady flow of material l2 by the action of gravity to ward the bottom [4.

The material i2 is contemplated to include a mixture of predetermined portions of sand and cement plus any other comminuted ingredients desired or necessary in forming concrete building blocks. The process for forming the completed blocks include structure not here shown, but for purposes of explanation, the form or mold around which the block is shaped is moved by an endless belt or otherwise positioned in line to receive a blast of the wet cement and so aligned with the means. for creating such blast as to form. all sides of the block until a finished block is made.

The structure for establishing such action upon the material likewise is no part of this invention but is illustrated in Fig. 1 without showing details of construction. This structure includes a, motor and a fan driven thereby, both of which are mounted within a housing [6. The said fan is formed in such manner as to establish a suction of air through a conduit l8 when it is rotated by the motor in the housing I 6. One end of the conduit I8 passes through the housing l6 into communication with conical portion 20 fixed to the housing I6 while the opposite end thereof is in communication with the atmosphere.

This conduit I8 passes through the hopper Ill near the bottom wall l4 thereof and is provided with a plurality of ports 22 throughout the length thereof disposed within the hopper I 0. These ports 22 are formed by cutting a relatively narrow lip 24 and bending the same inwardly into the conduit l8 until the uppermost face thereof is on an incline with respect to the longitudinal axis of the conduit l8. This inclination of the lip 24 is such as to permit the flow of material :2 from the hopper in in the general direction of flow of air in the conduit 18, all as illustrated by arrows in Fig. 2.

The lips 24 are bent into the conduit l8 a distance not only to form an opening in the ports 22 which faces the direction of flow of air in the conduit l8, but also to present an opening directed radially into the conduit I 8. In other words, the lip 24 extends below the outermost surface of the conduit l8 a distance sufiicient to present a space between the free end of the lip 24 and the wall 26 of the conduit [8 forming the port 22. Thus, suction created by the fan within the housing IE will not only draw the material l2 radially inwardly into the conduit l8 with the aid of gravitational movement of the material l2, but will draw the material inwardly along the outermost surface of the lips 24 as it slides therealong by the action of gravity.

The ports 22" are disposed in spaced apart; staggered relation in conduit Hi and will vary insize and numbers in accordance with the fineness of the material l2. lips 24 extend into the conduit l8 and illustrates how a series of relatively high pressure zones is created Within the conduit"- Hi-2 tional area of the conduit FB -is less at points adjacent each of the lips 24 which assures the movement of the material into the; portion. 20

with a minimum of force. The formation of the ports 22 as just described virtually eliminates clogging or gumming on material in these ports orr'in the conduit. I18 particularly since the mate rial remains dry until. it reaches a point of discharge; Liquid; isiintroduoedi through a. pipe 28 and a specially formed" head 39 the details of which form nopart of this: invention; causes the fluid to-Jaedirected upon the: material: l2; after the same passes from the headi'30i toward. that aforementioned .moloh. designedk to present'a block haying? predetermined? forms and contours.

illllanitestly,- material feeders. may be made by altering; specific details ofi-constructi'on without departing from; the objects-oft. the present invene tinn-orscnpe:ofithesapperrcledzclainn Having thus lcl'esonibedz'the' invention, what is:

claimedas new and desired to be" secured; by Letters Patent is:

In almazteria'l feeder, ahnpp'er'for'themat'erial tohe fed; a :conduit traversing the hoppver near the:hottom thereof and: embedde'df'in said mate- Fig. 3 illustrates the way the Thecross sec rial; means for forcing a stream of air under pressure through the conduit in one direction; and a series of ports formed in the conduit throughout the length of that portion thereof within the material, said ports each having a radially directed opening, and an opening facing the direction of movement of the material, said portss being, in spaced-apart relation and staggered around 'theconduit whereby to feed material from the hopper into the stream of air under pressure from substantially all points thereof on its periphery, and each including an inclined, elongated lip integral with and extending inwardly intdthe conduit for restricting the cross-sectibnal areaziofthe conduit at each port whereby to establisha series of relatively high pressure ZGHBSE throughout the length of that portion of the conduit having the ports therein, the longitudinal axes of the lips extending longitudinally of said conduit,

The following; references are of record in the file of this patent: V

UNIZEED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Mar; 28, 1938 

